Many people who have died from 2009 H1N1 influenza in the United States had co-infections with a common bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus) which likely contributed to their death, according to a report published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention′s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  CDC is reminding people of the importance of being vaccinated against this common bacterium.

“Our influenza season is off to a fast start and unfortunately there will be more cases of bacterial infections in people suffering from influenza,” said CDC Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Moore. “It′s really important for people, especially those at high risk for the serious complications from influenza, to check with their provider when they get their influenza vaccine about being vaccinated against pneumococcus.”

The CDC report included an analysis of specimens taken from 77 fatal cases of 2009 H1N1. Bacterial co–infections, including some caused by

Streptococcus pneumonia,

were noted in about a third of those cases.

I am not a fan of Britney’s music. The thing of her songs though is that it’s very catchy, after listening to the song you can almost memorize the lyrics. True Britney fashion I believe this song will become a hit mainly because the whole chorus and beat is catchy.

1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I’m caught in between
Countin’
1, 2, 3
Peter, Paul & Mary
Gettin’ down with 3P
Everybody loves ***
Countin’

Babe, pick a night
To come out and play
If it’s alright
What do you say?

Merrier the more
Triple fun that way
Twister on the floor
What do you say?

Are – you in
Livin’ in sin is the new thing (yeah)
Are – you in
I am countin’!

1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I’m caught in between
Countin’
1, 2, 3
Peter, Paul & Mary
Gettin’ down with 3P
Everybody loves ***
Countin’

Three is a charm
Two is not the same
I don’t see the harm
So are you game?

Lets’ make a team
Make ‘em say my name
Lovin’ the extreme
Now are you game?

Are – you in
Livin’ in sin is the new thing
Are – you in
I am countin’!

1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I’m caught in between
Countin’
1, 2, 3
Peter, Paul & Mary
Gettin’ down with 3P
Everybody loves ***

What we do is innocent
Just for fun and nothin’ meant
If you don’t like the company
Let’s just do it you and me
You and me…
Or three….
Or four….
- On the floor!

On youtube this video is called parking exit fail but to me this is more of a rampage. This driver sure have road rage issues or he is get away car or something this is not normal. He even drove over a tree! Some people should not be allowed to buy 4×4′s.

I don’t know how I feel about this ‘new’ Police Force theory. On Tuesday, Jacub Zuma had a meeting with the countries station commanders, ministers, premiers and MECs at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. He talked about fighting crime and giving the Police a overhaul by making a couple of changes and giving them more power because currently the criminals have all the power. Currently the it’s the Police Service but that would be changed to Police Force the ranking would also adopt a more military style such as instead of commissioners it would be commanders. Zuma is quoted saying:

We should return to the rank structure as it was in the past, when it was very similar to that of the army. news24

They also have said they want zero tolerance and shoot to kill. Now this is where I feel conflicted. I honestly believe the criminals should be stopped and I agree they do have too much rights for criminals but who is going to protect us from the police? It is a well known fact in South Africa we have a problem with corrupt and aggressive police. For this stance to work that the police should get tougher on criminals the ‘criminal police’ should be taken care of first. For example in White River a lawyer came to help his farmer client who was arrested at the police station was himself arrested and assaulted by the local police and Senior Police Detective threatened him with rape while holding him by the throat up against a wall.

When sodomised in jail, you won’t get help, there are no white people to help you

The Afrikaner lawyer, Angus Johan Nel is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome from his ordeal and has sued the Ministry of security and safety for false arrest, carried out under violent circumstances. Pretoria High Court magistrate has ordered damages to of R111 234 paid to Angus Johan Nel.

Now if that police detective and the fellow police who beat up Angus for no apparent reason had more power what would they have done? Seeing as his client was also falsely arrested on who know what ‘crime’ would he even have been there they could just as well shot the farmer and said he was resisting arrest and no questions would have been asked but then again if I had a armed robber in my yard I would like the police to punish him. How can we be sure that this ‘improved’ police would not turn on us.

The daily pressures on the police service is to much to handle and most of them just snap. They need to address these internal problems first for more force to be effective. There has to be more discipline and consequences to these ‘criminal police’ behavior and actions.  I doubt that the senior detective was even punished for her wrong doing. Crime would cease to be a problem if the police had their act together.

President Jacob Zuma calls for tougher, more effective fight against crime

29 September 2009
 
President Jacob Zuma concluded a meeting with police station commanders this afternoon by calling the fight against crime to be intensified. “It cannot be business as usual,” he said.
 
The President was accompanied by the ministers of Justice, Correctional Services, Social Development, State Security, Police, and Minister for the Planning Commission. Also in attendance were the national and provincial leadership of the police, representatives of metro police services, and the Independent Complaints Directorate.
 
President Zuma highlighted the need to fast-track the review of the Criminal Procedure Act so that it compliments the work of the police. He reiterated the need to reinvigorate the police.
 
The meeting took place at President Zuma’s request. It is part of a series of meetings the Presidency has been having with public servants who are at the coal face of service delivery.
 
The President has met with school principals, and will shortly meet with personnel in the public health care sector and with mayors and municipal managers.
 
Government has identified the fight against crime as one of its top five priorities. Crime continues to plague our society, terrorising our communities, undermining our development and damaging our economy.
 
“Clearly, the resolve to create a better life for our people will remain an illusion unless we resolutely deal a devastating blow to the crime and its debilitating effects,” President Zuma said.
 
The President chose to meet with station commanders because it is through the local police station that most members of the public interact with the police, and it is here that the fight against crime will be won or lost.
 
The President wanted to hear from station commanders about the challenges they face in their daily work, and about what they think needs to be done to improve their ability to tackle crime.
 
The discussion was productive and frank. The representatives of the police were able to raise their issues and concerns without reservation.
 
Among the matters discussed was the lack of coordination between the police and the justice department. The police found that their effectiveness was being undermined by the ease with which suspects – even repeat offenders – get bail, lengthy trials, low rates of conviction, and corruption.
 
A number of provinces had problems with the misalignment of jurisdictions between police stations and magistrates courts and other courts.
 
They raised problems with the availability of resources for police work. A number of provinces, particularly rural provinces, raised problems of the shortage of police stations and the large areas that a single station is supposed to service. There was also concern about the physical state of police stations, some without electricity or toilets, and the availability of resources such as vehicles.
 
Commissioners also raised the role that social problems play in contributing to crime. Concern was raised about the effects of poverty and the impact of rapid urbanisation on crime levels in the major centres. Drug and alcohol abuse was also cited as a significant contributing factor to high crime rates. Some raised the proliferation of guns as another major problem.
 
Some provinces also observed that underdevelopment of residential areas makes the work of the police more difficult. The lack of tarred roads, street names and house numbers in many parts of the country makes it difficult for police to respond quickly to emergency calls.
 
Cross-border crime was raised as a challenge, requiring more effective border control measures and better cooperation between SAPS and police in neighbouring states.
 
One of the issues that was raised repeatedly was the position of children, both as victims of crime and as perpetrators of crime. There was a need for the building of additional safety centres and the employment of greater numbers of social workers and other specialised professionals.
 
An issue was raised about discipline, morale and capacity within the police force. Among other things, this means that greater attention needs to be paid to recruitment processes and the training of new recruits. Police have to undertake duties that are not core policing functions, covering work that is supposed to be done by the social development, health or justice departments.
 
Addressing the police commissioners, President Zuma said: “We urge you here and now, to dedicate yourselves to work with us to develop new culture and ethos within the police force. Let us work towards developing a new police force.”
 

Dr Richard Betts, Head of Climate Impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, will present the new findings at a special conference called 4 degrees and beyond at Oxford University. The conference, to be attended by 130 international scientists and policy specialists, is the first to consider the global consequences of climate change beyond 2 degrees Celsius. 4degrees and beyond will take place on 28-30 September 2009 and is jointly sponsored by Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and the Met Office Hadley Centre.

The Met Office research describes the possibility of a 4 degree warming happening before the end of the century, with some extreme regional implications. This high emissions scenario is based on no action being taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly, starting in the next few years. If carbon cycle feedbacks are strong then a 4 degree warming could occur even earlier.

Extreme regional potential implications include:

• for the Arctic, a warming by 10 degrees or more due to melting of snow and ice causing more of the sun’s radiation to be absorbed;

•  for Africa, the western and southern regions experiencing both large warming (up to 10C) and drying;

•  rainfall could decrease by 20% or more in major global regions: although there is a spread in the magnitude of drying, most models indicate reductions in rainfall over western and southern Africa, Central America, the Mediterranean and parts of coastal Australia.

“4 degrees of warming averaged over the globe translates into even greater warming in many regions, along with major changes in rainfall” said Dr Betts.  “If greenhouse gas emissions are not cut soon then we could see major climate changes within our own lifetimes”.

Land Rover has confirmed that a production version of its exciting LRX concept car will be built. The new car will debut next year and join the Range Rover line-up in 2011.

Designed and engineered at Land Rover’s state of the art Gaydon facility, the new Range Rover will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient vehicle the company has ever produced.

The new car will be built at the multi award-winning plant in Halewood, on Merseyside, subject to quality and productivity agreements and will be sold in over 100 countries around the world.

Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover said: “The production of a small Range Rover model is excellent news for our employees, dealers and customers. It is a demonstration of our commitment to investing for the future, to continue to deliver relevant vehicles for our customers, with the outstanding breadth of capability for which we are world-renowned."

"Feedback from our customer research also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet their expectations." Phil added.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover design director said: "The new vehicle will be a natural extension to the Range Rover line-up, complementing the existing models and helping to define a new segment. It will be true to the concept and have many recognisable Range Rover design cues including the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid ‘wheel-at-each-corner’ stance."

Following the Tsunami in Samoa there has been warnings going off every few minutes now. Check them out:

Tsunami – North-America – USA
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 11:56 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23357-USA
Date / time: 30/09/2009 06:45:04 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: MultiStates
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observen several areas in the United States, following the M8.3 earthquake in the American Samoa region.

Time: 2009.09.30 05:28 UTC
Area: CHARLESTON,Oregon
Tsunami wave height: 0.13M/0.4FT

Time: 2009.09.30 05:09 UTC
Area: PORT ORFORD,Oregon
Tsunami wave height: 0.17M/0.6FT

Time: 2009.09.30 05:45 UTC
Area: SOUTH BEACH,Oregon
Tsunami wave height: 0.09M/0.3FT

Time: 2009.09.30 04:56 UTC
Area: SHEMYA,Alaska
Tsunami wave height: 0.10M/0.3FT

Time: 2009.09.30 06:05 UTC
Area: CRESCENT CITY,California
Tsunami wave height: 0.21M/0.7FT

Time: 2009.09.30 04:59 UTC
ARENA COVE,California   
Tsunami wave height: 0.33M/1.1FT

Time: 2009.09.30 05:31 UTC
Area: PORT SAN LUIS,California
Tsunami wave height: 0.30M/1.0FT

Other information not yet available.

Tsunami – Pacific ocean – east – Tonga
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 11:43 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23356-TON
Date / time: 30/09/2009 06:42:36 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: Pacific ocean – east
Country: Tonga
State/County: Unknow
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: 10 persons
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

New Zealand said there were serious concerns about the neighbouring island nation of Tonga after a 4-metre (13-foot) wave hit its northern coast. Tongan officials said they feared as many as 10 people had been killed.

Tsunami – Pacific ocean – east – Eastern Island
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 10:03 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23355-HSI
Date / time: 30/09/2009 05:00:37 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: Pacific ocean – east
Country: Eastern Island
State/County: Unknow
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Eastern Island coastal areas, following the M8.3 earthquake in American Samoa region. The observed tsunami wave height was 25 centimeter (0.8 feet). Other information not yet available. Tsunami alert issued in North, Central and South Americas Pacific regions.

Tornado – North-America – Canada
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:25 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TO-20090930-23354-CAN
Date / time: 30/09/2009 03:24:54 [UTC]
Event: Tornado
Area: North-America
Country: Canada
State/County: Province of Ontario
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Environment Canada confirmed in a statement today that a tornado touched down in Bowmanville on Monday [09.28.2009]. Initial reports said it was a funnel cloud that swept through the city, but following an investigation in the area, Environment Canada qualified it as an F1 tornado — meaning it was a moderate tornado with wind speeds estimated to be between 117 and 180 kilometres an hour. During the storm, the roof of a barn was torn off and landed on another barn. Trees also were uprooted, but no injuries were reported.A series of F2 tornadoes with winds gusting up to 252 kph tore through Vaughan and Durham regions on Aug 20, leaving one person dead and damaging buildings. Ontario has experienced 27 tornadoes so far in 2009, compared with an average of 11 tornadoes a year, Environment Canada said.

Tsunami – North-America – USA
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:07 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23353-USA
Date / time: 30/09/2009 03:06:56 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Hawaii
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Kahului Maui, Hawaii, USA, following the M8.3 earthquake in Amercican Samoa area. The observed tsunami wave height was 36 centimeter (1.2 feet). Other information not yet available.

Tsunami – North-America – USA
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:31 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23352-USA
Date / time: 30/09/2009 03:04:16 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Hawaii
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Honululu Ohau, Hawaii, USA, following the M8.3 earthquake in Amercican Samoa area. The observed tsunami wave height was 16 centimeter (0.5 feet). Other information not yet available.

Event updates:
Situation Update No. 1 on 30.09.2009 at 03:31:33.
 

Tsunami – North-America – USA
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:03 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23351-USA
Date / time: 30/09/2009 03:02:44 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Hawaii
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Kawaihae, Hawaii, USA, following the M8.3 earthquake in Amercican Samoa area. The observed tsunami wave height was 14 centimeter (0.7 feet). Other information not yet available.

Tsunami – North-America – USA
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:02 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23350-USA
Date / time: 30/09/2009 03:01:03 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Hawaii
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Nawiliwili Kauai, Hawaii, USA, following the M8.3 earthquake in Amercican Samoa area. The observed tsunami wave height was 20 centimeter (0.7 feet). Other information not yet available.

Tsunami – Pacific ocean – west – Vanuatu
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 08:00 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23349-VUT
Date / time: 30/09/2009 02:59:13 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: Pacific ocean – west
Country: Vanuatu
State/County: Unknow
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Port Vila, Vanatu, following the M8.3 earthquake in Amercican Samoa area. The observed tsunami wave height was 18 centimeter (0.6 feet). Other information not yet available.

Tsunami – Pacific ocean – east – French Polynesia
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 07:58 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090930-23348-PYF
Date / time: 30/09/2009 02:56:20 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: Pacific ocean – east
Country: French Polynesia
State/County: Unknow
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Papeete, Frenc Polynesia, following the M8.3 earthquake in Amercican Samoa area. The observed tsunami wave height was 14 centimeter (0.5 feet). Other information not yet available.

Tsunami – Pacific ocean – east – Cook Islands
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 11:43 PM PDT

EDIS Number: TS-20090929-23347-COK
Date / time: 29/09/2009 20:28:50 [UTC]
Event: Tsunami
Area: Pacific ocean – east
Country: Cook Islands
State/County: Unknow
City: Rarotonga
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Tsunami has been observed in Rarotonga, Cook Island, following the M8.3 earthquake in American Samoa area. The observed tsunami wave height was 47 centimeter (1.5 feet). Other information not yet available.